Or maybe it was a neat piece of foreshadowing, emphasising that the Centauri have no connection to the Vorlons (the other races did, after all, see figures from their own religious traditions) and are therefore more likely to side with the Shadows when the time comes.

Or maybe it was a neat piece of foreshadowing, emphasising that the Centauri have no connection to the Vorlons (the other races did, after all, see figures from their own religious traditions) and are therefore more likely to side with the Shadows when the time comes.

But as I said, we can't be sure of that because the only Centauri avaliable for comment was Londo.

Although in the telepath trilogy, wwe are led to believe that the vorlons

SPOILER (Dunno how to do the funky box)

Focussed their attentions on nurturing the Xon - the species the Centauri wiped out.

__________________
We live for The One, we die for The One

"We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

That's a very good point and not one I was aware of, although I'd say it hardly counts as a spoiler.

__________________"Summoned, I come. In Valen's name I take the place that has been prepared for me. I am Grey. I stand between the candle and the star. We are Grey. We stand between the darkness and the light."
- Delenn in Grey Council: "Babylon Squared"

Edit: oops, I notice that Galahad already made a very similar guess. Well, I'll keep mine around too, no point in deleting it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by maneth

However, that makes me wonder, why can the Narns, who haven't had telepaths in centuries, see the Vorlons, while the Centauri who have telepaths working for the court can't? Is that because they've always been closer to the Shadows than the Vorlons, or what?

Kosh may have been trying to convey a message to Londo personally.

Or less likely, someone else may have been been trailing Londo, and decided to protect his mind from being touched by the illusion. For a reason, or out of whim.

Since it's never mentioned what any other Centauri saw, nor what cameras saw (did the illusion have an optical facet, or was it purely mental), we can speculate...

Am I the only one who think of Pullman's "Dark Materials" when I hear "Dust"? Not the same substance, but in both cases the word for a lowly, worthless element is used for something significant.

There's so much to this episode that it's hard to know where to start without repeating everything that has already been said. Both the PsiCorp plot and the one involving G'Kar/Londo are great. I love Lennier's quote about Londo: "A darkness carried in the heart cannot be cured by moving the body." There's real wisdom in that!

Somewhere in there is a statement that the PsiCorps "stands between you and the abyss." Dubious...

This is definitely the turning point for G'Kar - the last time, unless I'm forgetting something, that he turns to violence to solve a problem. At the very least it's no longer his primary mode of operation. It took me a little bit to realize where the vision of his father came from - the angelic being and the statement "I have always been here" gave it away. It is interesting to have this personal contact between the Vorlon and G'Kar, since I don't recall any interaction between them previously.

Bester, as always, is a fascinating, multi-facetted character. You never know quite how to take him...

^
The contact with Kosh is definitely the major reason G'Kar changes his attitude. Kosh wasn't able to contact him previously; like with Sheridan G'Kar's mind "wasn't quiet enough to hear him." The Dust opened his mind up to the Kosh contact.

I like this episode a lot. Important G'Kar stuff, seemingly out of nowhere! But there's a lot of other good stuff in there, too.

The scene at the beginning, with the Night Watch security guy harassing that shopkeeper. I love it. I love how Sheridan is not putting up with that Night Watch crap at all.

I like the idea of Dust existing, and being used as a recreational drug. Just the sort of thing you'd expect to exist in the B5 universe. And of course, at the end we find out it was another Psi Corps experiment.

Vir's arrival I love Vir. I've mentioned elsewhere I've come to realize he's the true hero of the show, but even aside from that, he's just so likable. And that Minbari shirt he's wearing is very funny, as is Londo's disapproval. The whole Londo and Vir bit is excellent. They're a bit Bert and Ernie-ish, but it's fun. I do feel bad for Vir when Londo trashes his report on Minbar.

Then the bits with Londo and G'Kar are powerful stuff. Kind of beside the point here, but, I notice that in the flashback to where Londo talks about his assignment as ambassador, he's wearing what could be his purple coat from earlier on in the show, but it's missing the decoration. Do the Centauri coat decorations signify social standing or something?

Ivanova wanting to kill Bester. It's good stuff ... I can totally understand her desperation, there. Fortunately Sheridan saved the day, eh? It does make me wonder exactly how the voice commands for the defense grid work. Does the computer recognize Sheridan's voice as outranking Ivanova's order? Does the defense grid have a slight delay?

Something else about this episode that I only started noticing after many viewings is obvious in this scene, too. The "conversation just to explain the plot to the audience" thing. Here's Ivanova thinking out loud so that we can all follow along. At the end of the episode, Bester does a similar thing, when he starts talking about the Dust thing to the other Psi Cop, who presumably already knows the things he is telling her.

I like the Minbari telepath idea, and how dismayed Bester looks when he finds them there. "Nothing like a level playing field to ruin a Psi Cop's day", indeed. I'm not sure I would have trusted him, even on the sleepers. Dude is creepy!

That bit with Londo and the Drazi ambassador is interesting, too. Londo threatening him with invasion and all. Then, I like the conversation Vir has with Delenn and Lennier after Londo leaves the room, where they talk about Londo and Lennier says "A darkness carried in the heart cannot be cured by moving the body from one place to another", and Vir sort of defending Londo: "someday he will surprise you".

A side note about the Drazi. I suppose the 1.2 human years of the big purple/green fight have passed now, but we've seen some Drazi newly arrived at the station who didn't wear sashes (the pilgrims in "Convictions", for one). Perhaps the devoutly religious don't participate? Or maybe if you're traveling you get a break from participating? Ahh, I have so many questions about that odd custom

I like the part where Bester tells Garibaldi they both do the same thing, using their uniform/badge to intimidate, and that he too is only trying to protect Earth. It's a recurring theme that I like.